Recent Advances in DNA-Based Strategies for the Capture, Detection, and Release of Circulating Tumor Cells

Abstract

Circulating tumor cell (CTC) analysis, as a form of liquid biopsy, has become a powerful tool for the early diagnosis of cancer, monitoring disease progression, and evaluating treatment efficacy. In recent decades, significant progress has been made in DNA-based technology for capturing and detecting CTCs. However, effectively releasing captured CTCs remains challenging. This article reviews the latest progress in CTC detection, capture, and release methods based on DNA materials and provides insights into current development trends and future research directions. We give a comprehensive overview of various strategies and discuss their design principles, characteristics, advantages, and limitations and the challenges faced by the CTC research field.